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He’s done it again – Obama is back in the White House to complete a further, and final, four years. But, how exactly do you become President of the Unite States? Spend up to <a href="http://$2bn – largely on advertising in swing states like Ohio and Virginia to grab voters’ attention. That’s how.

It wasn’t just Obama that ran up a large bill. Republican Romney spent even more. According to the Washington Post he spent $76m more than Obama at $472m – virtually all of which was used to create negative adverts that slammed his opponent.

But where was the bulk of this cash channelled? Florida – 2012’s modern day battleground for US political candidates.

Obama may have had a tighter financial budget to contend with. But, with approximately 314m people in the US, he still drummed up enough support for every US citizen to pledge $1.25 to his cause. A great result.

How does this campaign cash compare with Presidential election fundraisers before him?

Calculation based on population count from US Census Bureau on 7 November and does not account for fluctuation of inflation

This shows that more or less there’s been a decline in giving over recent elections. Yet, with the country suffering from $16 trillion worth if debts (via BBC Newsnight) it’s no surprise people are keeping their wallets closed.

Debt or no debt. The world woke up today to find the right candidate winning the election – and that’s priceless.